Dear Friends and Constituents,
 
Below is this week's wrap.  We completed our second full week and today was the general bill filing deadline.  The Senate's desire is to work to wrap up our business by late April.  This is an aggressive goal but we can accomplish it if we act quickly on the bills in our system.
 
This week we expand the right to carry a legal firearm in Tennessee and took the first step to pass a common sense abortion amendment to our state constitituion.  Next week the Commerce committee will begin hearing a number of bills, the most important being legislation to cutail cooper thefts in our county and state.
 
Have a wonderful holiday weekend,
 
Senator Paul Stanley
(Bartlett, Cordova, Germantown)
 
1-800-449-8366 ext. 13036

 Senator Paul Stanley’s Weekly Wrap
State of Tennessee

                   
Senate Education Committee studies options for lottery scholarship funds

Contact:  Darlene Schlicher (615) 741-6336 or email:  darlene.schlicher@legislature.state.tn.us 

      (NASHVILLE, TN, January 17, 2008) – Tennessee’s lottery scholarship program moved front and center this week in the Senate Education Committee where a wide variety of information about the program’s finances and options were laid on the table for members to review.  While Tennessee revenues for the general fund are sluggish, the balance in the state’s four-year old Lottery Scholarship Fund continues to grow as it has reached maturity.

     Robert Currey, Chief Economist for the Legislature’s Fiscal Review Committee, told state senators that if the costs hold up, we should see a surplus of $42 to $52 million coming out of the lottery scholarship fund this year.  That amount, however, does not include the $25 million that has been appropriated for the past three years to fund the state’s Pre-K program.  This leaves $17 to $27 million as the range lawmakers can project to spend on a recurring basis if Pre-K is continued at the same funding level.  

     The state’s Funding Board has projected net lottery proceeds will be $280 to $290 million, of which Tennessee needs approximately $233 to $238 million in proceeds to fund current lottery scholarships.  The money will go to fund college scholarships for approximately 80,000 students.  The state is also expected to spend $12.5 million in proceeds from the lottery’s unclaimed prize fund to go to after school programs for K-12 students.
 
     There are many different ideas about how the lottery surplus money should be spent.  Among the options for expanding the program mentioned at the meeting are lowering GPA standards, needs-based grants, expanded eligibility for non-traditional students, and an early commitment scholarship program to encourage students, beginning in the 8th grade, to go to college.  Expanding eligibility to non-traditional students aims to enable working adults to pursue educational goals, while enhancing economic development through a better educated workforce. 

     The constitutional amendment that put the state lottery in place was sold to the public as a tool to help encourage high school students to excel, and to keep the best and brightest in Tennessee’s colleges and universities.  Republicans will focus on expanding scholarship opportunities and providing excellence in education, while continuing to be fiscally responsible.

     In addition, the lottery scholarship has a reserve fund which Currey said now reached about $425 to $430 million dollars.   These reserves exceed the amount needed to make sure there is adequate “rainy day money” to cover the scholarships should a downturn in lottery sales occur.  Legislators will debate how these funds can be spent in the coming weeks and the governor will present his proposal on this matter during his budget address later this month. 

     The state’s constitutional amendment limited the lottery money to college scholarships, expansion of new Pre-K and after school programs, and capital improvements for major improvements or building K-12 schools. The only facet of the 2002 Constitutional Amendment creating the Tennessee Education Lottery yet to be enacted by legislation is granting the use of excess lottery reserves for new capital outlay projects for Tennessee’s K-12 educational facilities.  Legislation was introduced last year calling for a portion of the excess funds to be transferred to a special K-12 capital outlay account for this purpose.   

     The Education Committee voted to form a subcommittee to study the many proposals before them on the lottery scholarship issue and will return with their recommendations within the next several weeks. 

Tennessee is key state in nation’s “war on drugs”

     Tennessee is a key state in the nation’s “War on Drugs,” according to Lt. Col. Byron Deel who briefed the Senate Judiciary Committee this week regarding his task force’s work to curtail drug trafficking in the state.  Deel is commander of the Tennessee Army National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force, an 84-member team who assists local law enforcement in identifying and capturing drug traffickers and manufacturers.  The Task Force, who are federally funded but attached to the state’s Military Department, have specialized equipment and are highly trained in ground operations.  The group also provides counter-drug education to students in Tennessee schools.

     It is the state’s outstanding interstate highway system and prime location as a crossroads to other states that gives drug dealers “the ability to apply their trade,” Deel said.  This makes Tennessee one of the top 28 areas in the nation which the federal government has designated as a “high intensity drug area.”  Most of the other states in the drug trade corridor are on the nation’s border with Mexico.

     Tennessee’s problem with drug trafficking is evident by the fact that marijuana is the state’s number one cash crop.  The Counterdrug Task Force eradicated 485,920 plants last year, placing the state third in the nation for marijuana production.  The production of methamphetamines was close behind with 651 clandestine labs shut down in 2006, again placing the state third in the nation for meth.  Cocaine is also a substantial drug problem, as Tennessee seized 639 kilos of cocaine last year.  Another priority in the war on drugs is illegal use of prescription drugs.

     Deel said that although Tennessee had seen a drop in the number of clandestine meth labs in the last couple of years since the legislature passed comprehensive  anti-meth legislation, use still continues at almost the same rate due to the trafficking of the drug from “Super Labs” in Mexico.  Meth was once considered a prominent problem for the Cumberland Plateau and Appalachian areas, but Deel said the drug has now spread across the state and into Memphis.

     “We appreciate the work that Lt. Col. Deel and his task force have done to assist our local law enforcement officers in bringing to justice those who are selling and manufacturing illegal drugs in Tennessee,” said Judiciary Chairman Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet).  “Certainly we need to continue pressing for more resources and tougher penalties to fight this growing crime, especially the importation of drugs from Mexico.”
Full Senate approves handgun permit legislation

     The full Senate approved and sent to the House legislation allowing citizens with handgun permits to carry their weapons into establishments that sell alcohol.   The bill, SB 23, allows law-abiding handgun permit holders to “carry” into restaurants or other establishments serving alcohol as long as the owners of the premises have not posted notification that they are banned.  Those who are in possession of a handgun are already prohibited from consuming alcohol or face a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a $2,000 fine and up to 11 months and 29 days in jail.  

     Tennessee has 185,000 citizens who have a license to carry a handgun.  There  have been no incidents with legal license holders in any of the 34 states that allow them to carry guns into such establishments.  Tennessee has also had no incidents with permit holders since the handgun carry law was enacted over a decade ago.

     Senator Paul Stanley (R-Germantown), a co-sponsor of the legislation told senators “law abiding citizens who currently have a handgun carry permit are responsible gun owners.  Not allowing those of us who have permits to carry a weapon in order to defend ourselves and our families gives criminals the advantage”, stated Stanley.

Issues In Brief

     Abortion Resolution – A resolution for a constitutional amendment aimed at restoring commonsense protections on abortion in Tennessee received its first reading on the floor of the Senate this week.  The reading is the first of three that must take place before the measure is debated by State Senators.  The resolution, SJR 127, would authorize citizens to amend Tennessee's constitution to say that the right to an abortion is only protected under the U.S. Constitution as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court.  The action comes after the State Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that abortion in Tennessee is a “fundamental right.”  The state’s high court struck down basic protections such as waiting periods, informed consent, and surgical care protections before abortions are performed.

     “The practical effect would be to bring Tennessee back into a position of neutrality so the people of this state’s elected representatives can decide what protections can be put into place, within the bounds of federal decisions,” said Senator Diane Black, (R-Hendersonville) sponsor of the legislation.  

     Financial Responsibility Law – The full Senate has also passed legislation, SB 1291, which requires judges to dismiss violations of the state’s financial responsibility law if the person charged with the violation presents sufficient evidence of compliance.  Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) is sponsor of the bill. 

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